As two loving parents, Garry and Kyle Ratcliffe have faced a number of challenges on the road to building the family they always wanted.

The pair, aged 45 and 40, were honoured at the Attitude Pride Awards earlier this year for their dedication to their four children, three of whom have life-limiting medical conditions.

They recently celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary, challenged the Kent adoption system to create their forever family.

Many will recognise the Ratcliffe family from DIY SOS, when Nick Knowles and the team demolished their home to create an accessible living space for them back in 2016.

And now they want to set up their own charity, to repay the kindness they have received from others.

Meet the family

Garry and Kyle Ratcliffe along with their children Haydn, Curtis, Isobella and Phoebe

Garry is the headteacher of Oakfield Primary Academy in Dartford, while Kyle is a stay at home dad.

They met 12 years ago in a particularly long queue in Costa Coffee in Canterbury High Street, and were happily married in 2008.

They now happily live together in Brambledown with their four children.

Haydn, 12, has cerebral palsy and uses a powered wheelchair full time; Isobella, nine, has high-level Down Syndrome; Curtis, five, has severe cerebral palsy; and Phoebe, four, is able bodied but suffers from PTSD and night terrors.

Kyle explained how he and Garry came to have the big, unique family they have today: "Garry and I always wanted a family.

"I have had relationships in the past break down because they didn't want kids and that didn't work with me.

"It came up quite early that we both wanted it - but how do two men go about starting and building their own family?"

"It was a little bit of backwards thinking"

Their journey to start a family began around six years ago with a piece in a local newspaper. Garry saw the item, about a six year old boy looking for his forever home, and signed himself and Kyle up to meet him.

Nine months later, they welcomed eldest son Haydn into their home.

Their home was completely demolished and rebuilt by DIY SOS in 2016

But Kyle said they faced outdated thinking and prejudice when going through the fostering and adoption process.

"We were the first gay male couple to go through the fostering process with Kent County Council, none of their systems or their social workers had any experience with two guys starting a family."

Even small details, such as forms assuming one parent would have a male title, and the other a female title, showed the system needed to be updated.

Kyle added: "There was the typical joke 'which one of you wants to be mum?' but after nine months that got quite tedious."

Another stigma they faced during the process was "only being assessed to foster boys, because what on earth would two men know about fostering girls?

"We questioned and challenged and our register went from boys to boys and girls, hence we later fostered Isobella and Phoebe.

"There's an assumption that men cannot look after girls, or ladies cannot look after boys, but there's plenty of single dads raising their daughters and vice versa.

"I think it was just a little bit of backwards thinking.

"We realised there needed to be things changed. We're hoping that things changed so the challenges we've faced - others don't have to."

"There is nothing we can't or won't do"

Even though there are a number of challenges which come with raising children with disabilities, the Ratcliffe family doesn't let anything stand in their way.

The family live in their home on the Isle of Sheppey (Image: Nicola Stocken / Gardenpix Ltd)

Kyle described them as the "stereotypical large family" and said they do everything everyone else does, from sightseeing trips in London, to shopping trips at Bluewater, to visiting the county's English Heritage sites with their membership.

He said: "There is nothing we can't or won't do.

"Sometimes it takes us a little bit longer to get around, but we do not allow the kids to say 'I can't do that because I'm disabled'."

The awards

Garry and Kyle were extremely surprised to find out they had been nominated for an Attitude Pride Award - and even more surprised when they won.

Kyle quipped that he turned up in London with Garry knowing they had been nominated for an award, but had no idea what for.

The Ratcliffe kids

The pair were presented with the award by DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles, who they met when they appeared on the programme in 2016.

Kyle said: "The other nominees have been through really hard struggles due to being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, so we seem to be the happy story at the end.

"It's nice to see we have made some difference in some way, even if in a small way."

What are the Attitude Pride Awards?

The Attitude Pride Awards, run by leading gay magazine Attitude, took place in London on July 6 - the night before the capital's annual Pride event.

They acknowledge the LGBT+ people and allies who have overcome life-changing events, or are working selflessly to improve the lives of others.

The awards, now in its third year, takes the focus off of celebrity activism and instead seeks to highlight everyday heroes.

This is the full list of the 2018 winners:

Gay's The Word - the UK's pioneering queer bookshop

Mazharul Islam - after escaping Bangladesh where two fellow LGBT+ activists and friends were killed, he set up a new life in London and continues to fight for justice in his home country

Ben Smith - creator of All Together UK, which aims to stem the tide of loneliness in the LGBT+ community

The Michael Causer Foundation - gay teenager Michael was murdered in his sleep 10 years ago, so his parents set up an LGBT+ charity to ensure his legacy lives on

S Chelvan - after entering the legal system to improve his own circumstances, he now helps many LGBT+ people within the immigration and asylum sector